Glove with thumb restraint element

ABSTRACT

A glove having a retainer disposed adjacent to the outside of a thumb portion so as to restrict movement of the thumb portion away from the rest of the glove thereby preventing damage to certain ligaments of the user&#39;s thumb should the thumb be bent abnormally.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of protective handwear, particularlyin regard to preventing damage to certain ligaments of the thumb.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In various sports and recreational activities, as well as in industry,there are numerous occasions when, as a result of a fall or other event,the thumb is momentarily bent away from the other fingers of the hand.This bending results in a stretching of the ulnar collateral ligament,which is connected around the thumb's lower joint, the metacarpalphalangeal joint. If this stretching is severe enough, the ligament willrupture, and as it will frequently not heal by itself, surgery is oftenrequired to repair the tear. Even if the ligament is not torn, such astretching, particularly if repeated, will loosen the ligament givingrise to a chronic wobbling of the joint, which could cause arthritis.

Prior art gloves and handwear are, at best, only designed to protect thehand from cold or from abrasions and do not prevent such ligament damageat all. Furthermore, the common way to protect the thumb area aftersurgery is by using a cumbersome cast, which cannot, as a practicalmatter, be kept on the hand for longer than six to eight weeks, a timeperiod far short of that actually required for the ligament to mature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I have discovered that stress on the ulnar collateral ligament can begreatly reduced while allowing the thumb and hand normal freedom ofmovement by positioning a restraint in a glove so that the restraintlimits abnormal movement of the thumb when the glove is on the hand.

In a preferred embodiment, an inflexible retaining trough is disposedinside the pocket along the radial side (outside) of the thumb of theglove. The trough extends from the tip of the thumb down to the wristarea. When the hand is in place in the glove, the outside of the thumb,the carpal bones and the distal radius are cradled by the trough therebypreventing any movement of the thumb away from the fingers or any otherabnormal thumb movement. However, the ulnar (inside) portion of theglove's thumb has enough loose fabric so that the thumb can bendnormally, i.e., towards the palm of the hand. The glove of thisembodiment may be relatively heavy and therefore particularly suited foruse in skiing or in hockey.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the glove has aretaining ribbon extending around its outside so that when a hand isplaced in the glove, the ribbon extends from the metacarpal phalangealjoint area of the thumb to the lower portion of the ulnar (littlefinger) side of the hand thereby restricting outward movement of thethumb while not inhibiting its normal flexing. Gloves of this embodimentmay be lightweight and therefore particularly suitable for karate,weight-lifting or as general purpose work glove.

The gloves of these embodiments may also be used as post-surgicalprotection for a repaired ulnar collateral ligament after the cast hasbeen removed. To reduce glove weight for this purpose, the gloves ofthese embodiments can also be made without fingers and with a truncatedthumb and with a slit side to allow the glove to be put on easily.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

I turn now to the description of the preferred embodiment after firstdescribing the drawings.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glove of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a retainer of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another retainer of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another glove of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another glove of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective vew of another glove of this invention.

STRUCTURE

Referring to FIG. 1, a glove according to the invention herein is shownat 10. The glove 10 has an outer shell 12 having four fingers 14 and athumb pocket 16. A zippered pocket 18 (shown open) is disposed on theulnar side (outside) of the thumb pocket 16. Pocket 18 extends from thetop of the thumb pocket 16 to near a wrist 20 of the glove 10.

A retaining trough 22, shown in FIG. 2, fits into the pocket 18 andextends the length thereof. Trough 22 is curved having a hollow section24 extending its entire length. The hollow section 24 conforms to theradial side of a thumb and hand down to the wrist area. A lip 26 isdisposed on the wrist end of the trough 22. The trough 22 may be made offiberglass, or any other material which can easily be molded but islighweight and inflexible when hardened.

As for normal movement of the thumb, the loose fabric 28 on the ulnarside of the thumb pocket 16 permits the thumb to flex at its top joint,the interphalangeal joint. Proper flexion at the lower joint is also notseriously inhibited. Thus, the normal movement of the thumb is notaffected by the retaining trough 22. It should be understood that theterm loose fabric in this context does not mean an abundance of fabric,as the fabric of the inside of a thumb pocket of a conventional skiglove would be loose enough for this purpose.

The zippered pocket 18 of the glove 10 of the preferred embodiment isonly used to provide a means for removal of the trough 22, if desired.The trough 22 could also be placed inside a closed, unzippered pocket,which is then sewn onto the structure of an existing glove. Also, thetrough could be directly attached to the outside of a thumb pocket of aglove without a surrounding pocket. For comfort, the trough 22 itselfmay be padded or molded to the exact shape of the thumb and radial sideof the user's hand.

When a hand is in place inside the glove 10, the radial side of the handand its thumb fits into the trough 22. The trough 22 essentially holdsthe radial side of the first ray (the thumb and the metacarpal) of thehand. A layer of fabric (not shown) forming the inside of the zipperedpocket 18 is disposed between the thumb and the trough 22. If desired,this layer may be omitted.

For additional protection, a semi-cylindrical thumb piece 29 (showndotted in FIG. 2) may be added to cover the ulnar side of the thumb,which is then completely surrounded by the trough 22 and thumb piece 29.The thumb piece 29 may be flexible to allow the thumb to bend normally.

OPERATION

If any pressure is applied to the ulnar side (inside) of the thumbpocket 16, the thumb inside the pocket 16 is forced back against thehollow section 24 of the trough 22 and the radial carpal bones anddistal radius fit into the trough 22. Further radial movement of thethumb by itself is essentially impossible as the trough 22 hasessentially frozen the bones forming the lower thumb joint in the radialdirection. Little abnormal (i.e., other than the natural flexion of thejoint) movement of one bone with respect to the other is possible. Theulnar collateral ligament is not significantly stretched, and no damageto it results. The curved lip 26 at the lower end of the trough preventsthe trough from digging into the wrist of the wearer.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 3, a retaining trough 30 may be comprised of a thumbpiece 32 and a lower piece 34, connected by a hinge 36. The hinge 36only bends forwardly and does not allow rearward movement. When the handis in place, the hinge 36 is located adjacent to the upper joint of thethumb. This two-piece arrangement with the hinge 36 permits normalmovement of the thumb without the need for loose fabric on the ulnarside of a thumb pocket. The same hinge effect can be achieved by using asingle piece trough made of a material which flexes only in thedirection of normal thumb movement and is inflexible in otherdirections. The hinge and thumb piece structure may also be formed byusing a series of overlapping sections arranged so that the lower partof a first section, which section extends from the tip of the thumbbeyond its first joint, overlaps the top portion of a second sectionextending between the first and second joint. This permits the thumb tobend normally but restricts abnormal movement.

Another embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 4. A ribbon 42extends circumferentially around the outside of a glove 40. When a handis inside the glove 40, the ribbon 42 is effectively wrapped over andabove the metacarpal phalangeal joint 44 of the thumb on one side of thehand and the ulnar side (little finger side) of the hand. The ribbon 42restricts the outward movement of the thumb and thereby protects theulnar collateral ligament. The ribbon also may be positioned around theinside of the glove, and in fact it need not go completely around theglove at all.

Another embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 5. A glove 50 hasa ribbon 52 which is wrapped around the thumb area so that it covers themetacarpal phalangeal joint and then extends to the other (ulnar) sideof the hand near the wrist area. The tightness of the ribbon 52 (andalso the ribbon 42 of the embodiment of FIG. 4) may be adjusted bypulling the ends of the ribbon in the ulnar direction. The ends of theribbon, which overlap on the ulnar side of the hand, have adjacentVelcro surfaces so as to fom an adjustable fastener 55. Other suchfastening means, i.e., drawstrings, may also be used. The ribbons 42, 52may be partially or entirely elastic so that the thumb is closely heldto the hand but can be actively brought away from the hand by musclepower and assisted to return to the hand by the ribbon's elasticity.

Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. A glove 60 is comprised of acloth 62 which wraps around a hand. A retainer 64, like that of FIG. 2,is attached to the cloth 62 inside a pocket 66 so that when the cloth 62is in place, the outside of the thumb and hand fits in the retainer 64.The cloth is held in place by fastening zipper 68 which is on the ulnarside of the hand when the cloth 62 is in place. To make the gloveadjustable the zipper may be omitted and velcreau fastener used instead.This embodiment is particularly useful in post-surgical applicationswhere it may be undesirable to force the repaired hand through thenarrow wrist opening of a conventional glove.

It is also possible to use the embodiment of FIG. 6, or a similartruncated glove, having the ribbons of FIGS. 4, 5, as an insert for aconventional glove.

In each case, the invention limits the abnormal movement through whichthe metacarpal phalangeal joint of the thumb may be brought. It furtherrestricts the speed at which any extension occurs so that the elasticlimit of the ligaments is not exceeded which would cause a rupture.

Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A glove for preventing injury to the thumb'sulnar collateral ligament comprising:a hand covering having a thumbportion,said thumb portion having a retainer means disposed at least inpart on the radial side of said thumb portion,said retainer means beinginflexible in the radial direction, and when the wearer's thumb is inplace in said thumb portion of said glove, said retainer means isdisposed to extend over the thumb's metacarpal phalangeal joint and isof sufficient length to also extend over substantial portions of theadjacent bones which form the joint so as to generally immobilize thebones with respect to the joint in the radial direction whereby radialmovement of the thumb which might injure the ulnar collateral ligamentof the thumb is prevented.
 2. The glove of claim 1 wherein said retainermeans comprises a trough, said trough disposed on the radial side ofsaid thumb portion and extending from the approximate tip of said thumbportion to the wrist area.
 3. The glove of claim 2 wherein said troughhas a hollow section, which said section fits around said radial side ofsaid thumb porton.
 4. The glove of claim 2 wherein said trough has ahinge, said hinge joining a first portion of said trough to a secondportion of said trough, said hinge located near the end opposite saidwrist portion of said glove.
 5. The glove of claim 4 wherein said hingeonly permits the first portion to move in an ulnar direction.
 6. Theglove of claim 1 wherein said retainer means fits around the entirethumb portion.
 7. The glove of claim 6 wherein said retainer meanscomprises a trough which covers the radial side of said thumb portionand a semi-cylindrical thumb piece which covers the ulnar side of saidthumb portion.
 8. The glove of claim 1 wherein said thumb potion has apocket on its radial side, said pocket holding said retainer means. 9.The glove of claim 8 wherein said pocket has a zipper.
 10. The glove ofclaim 1 wherein said retainer means is flexible in the ulnar directionbut inflexible in the radial direction.